Ten years in the future after the 'Leave it to Raphie' series. Over the years, Raph and Donnie have kept their promise to Splinter to stay apart, but as time passes and they grow up, slowly realizing who they are, what they want, and who, they have to come to terms they may have to break the rules; or stay apart forever. turtlecest RaphxDon Lemon & LeoxMikey Lemon - angst-galore

Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT or anything associated with them. I'm writing these stories for... some... twisted... reason... that even I am not fully sure as to why I am o.0 but here they are. All-in-fun-&-Games, my TMNT fan fiction.

Author note: The first few chapters will be Raph and Don as children - but that is only to set the mood and get you all prepared for what happens at the 10 years later mark. maybe if I get some nice reviews I'll post chapter three sooner than later :D (and please no flames. Constructive Critism yes, but if you don't like Turtlecest or RaphxDon aren't you're favorite chars, please don't complain, I'm giving you ample warning... and yes, there will be lemons later on; so if that squirks you, ... why are you here? o.0 ) thank you.

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small Author Note: The kids are 9 years old in this chapter.

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--Runaway--

By: Melissa the Damgel

He had had enough! If it wasn't Leo showing off and being all perfect, then Splinter was scolding him, and Mikey was just being annoying. Even Donnie was being a know-it-all… though he really wasn't too mad at him; Don had smiled at him and kissed his cheek after he said he didn't understand.

But it was mostly because of Leo. He was acting all high and mighty just because Master Splinter had complimented him on learning a really hard kata and getting it right. Just cause no one else had done it perfectly yet, it didn't mean they wouldn't! It was so unfair that Leo got all the praise all the time for stuff. He tried hard too! He just didn't want to spend all day doing it like Leonardo. Leo was such a brownnoser.

Glaring at the walkway next to the rushing sewer water, Raphael stomped his way through the tunnels with a duffel bag over his shoulder.

'It isn't fair;' he grumbled in his head and kicked at a rock. He was stronger than Leo, and he was a fast learner! Leo just showed off and tried to be all perfect. It was like Leo didn't want to ask questions when told to do stuff – he just bowed and did whatever Splinter told him to do. Wasn't asking questions important?

Raph turned a corner, heading deeper into the unexplored sewers outside of their normal scavenging area.

Today had been the last straw. He wasn't going to put up with perfect Leonardo anymore, and he wasn't going to play with Mikey anymore because Mikey cheated all the time, and he wasn't going to listen to Splinter anymore because Splinter only liked Leo.

He frowned and peeked over his shoulder back towards the corner. He would miss Donnie… but after he got his own place, he'd tell Donnie were it was and they could play there together all the time. Maybe they could even have sleepovers and then they could kiss each other without being nervous of another brother walking in. Maybe running away had more than one perk.

Letting loose a sigh before he turned again to continue his escape, Raph stopped suddenly and paused as he took a moment to study the tunnel he was currently in. It was dark and shadowed, the walls were more cracked and caked in grime than the tunnels Splinter had them live in, and the tunnels that broke off in branches throughout the area, were smaller and lower to the ground than he was typically used too. Raph glanced up at the pipes above his head curiously and he took note of the various colors that marked different pipe lines leading to different areas in the sewers.

Looking back down the sewer he was in, Raphael narrowed his eyes, his mind chugging along as it slowly began to list options for what he should do. Looking back up at the pipes up above, a red marked pipe jumped out at him and he nodded, deciding that one looked like a good one. With his problem solved just like that, Raph went with his gut instinct and followed the red one that took him on a twisted and aimless journey that was geared towards searching for his own place to eventually live in.

"Raphie?" a voice called behind him suddenly out of the darkness and gloom he was trudging through.

Twirling around in surprise, Raphael's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped as he stared at Donnie just a few yards down the tunnel from him.

Donnie stared back at him, tilting his head to the right with his hand resting upon the corner of the sewer wall, dark eyes silently questioning Raph as to what he was doing.

"What the shell are you doing out here?" Raph shot at him, his eyes remained wide as he stomped towards him a few feet, trying to appear threatening as he as he asked his question.

Fidgeting and looking down at the ground for a moment, Donnie hesitated – and in the process making Raph blush deeply; Donnie just made too cute of a picture framed down the hall by the corner of the tunnel opening he was in; his hand on the wall, one of his knees bent and his foot rolling lightly atop his toes behind him in a rather feminine way.

"You seemed like you were mad after practice… and then you left the lair really fast. I wanted to make sure you were okay." He explained sheepishly before raising his dark eyes to gaze up at him.

Raph felt his face warm up again and he turned away suddenly, "Um… I was mad." He grunted and raised his duffle bag higher onto his shoulder once again, Raph got his bluster back and he stomped down the tunnel, "I'm sick of having to listen to Master Splinter and watching Leo show off in front of him. I know Splinter hates me so I'm just going to run away and save them the trouble of kicking me out later."

He felt more than heard Donnie hurry after him and join him at his side as he peeked back up at the red pipe and followed it deeper into the unexplored tunnels.

"I don't think they hate you." Don said quietly.

Raph scoffed and glanced down at the purple banded turtle at his elbow. "Sure they do. You seen the way they look at me – Leo looks like he's annoyed or something crawled up his butt, and Splinter looks all disappointed and shakes his head… you know… how he grips his cane and looks at the ground." Raph waved a hand out at his side as he explained. "I know they do. And Mikey, he's fun, but he's so annoying right now!"

Staring up at him as he walked beside him, Donnie tilted his head slightly and dragged his dark eyes away, "And what about me?"

"You think-" Raph stopped himself immediately and turned to stare at Don. Amber eyes widened as a wave of nervousness washed over him due to the fact Donnie had caught him and was now looking back at him all emotionless and looking as studious as ever as though he were watching him like one of those nature programs he likes so much and was waiting to hear the answer to the question he already knew. "W… what makes you think you did anything?" he laughed weakly and darted his eyes back and forth in an attempt to avoid Don's eyes. And of course, if all else fails, deny everything.

"Raphie, you're running away from home. What did I do?" Donnie asked simply, dark eyes burrowing into him and picking at his conscious in the most delicate of ways.

Growling loudly and looking away as he scratched at his head, Raph stopped abruptly in his tracks and squeezed his eyes shut so he wouldn't have to see Donnie's look of sympathy. "You think I'm stupid!"

Donnie stumbled slightly, "What?" his voice squeaked and he didn't even attempt to hide the incredulous sound he made at that statement.

"I don't understand half the stuff you say when you talk about all your toys and how you built them – or like when you were telling me about that animal on tv that you thought was weird; all I understood was that bugs live in its fur and it sleeps a lot." He threw a hand out and he turned around, glaring into the water to avoid eye contact. "I'm not smart like you. You only like me 'cause-"

"Raphie, you're not stupid!" He shouted, his voice firm and final – something Raph didn't hear too often. "In fact, you're actually really smart." Donnie said, his words softening and his body relaxing as he revealed the truth. He shifted his body so he was standing in front of Raph's current line of vision and he shyly peeked up at him, trying to catch his eyes. "You know how to read people and you can figure stuff out just by looking at it. I have to study it and research everything before I come to a decision." Donnie explained then smiled softly as though finding his next words funny. "I'm slower than you when it comes to understanding everything around me; I just remember things better on a long term scale."

Raph narrowed his eyes and eyed Donnie – he really didn't want to say 'huh?' like he was originally going to do, "You're making that up." He settled for saying that instead and that got a smile out of Donnie.

"I'm not! For example, this morning at practice, you said that Master Splinter looked stressed. I didn't understand what you meant. It took me till the lesson was over to see what you saw. It wasn't the way he spoke to us or even the way he drove us harder at practice; it was the way his tail moved, the way his ears and whiskers were twitching. It was even the way he held his cane, like… like-"

"-Something was on his mind… got it." Raphael grunted and looked down at his feet.

Donnie nodded and lowered his eyes to look down at their toes while he moved his hands behind his back to link his fingers together. "See, you're really smart at reading people and how a situation might go. After I have gathered all the facts do I see what you saw just walking into the same room as, say, Sensei. I wish I could do that."

Raph was silent for a while, his toe lightly kicking at a small pebble. "Well, I wasn't really mad at you anyway…" He said lamely, feeling rather sheepish for assuming Donnie thought he was stupid. "I mean, I figured after I found my own home, then I'd ask you if you wanted to… you know… come visit me and stuff." Raph mumbled shyly, his face warming up.

A sad smile settled over Donatello's features and he looked back up at his brother, "So you're still running away?"

"Yeah; it's not worth being the butt of everyone's jokes back there – especially with Leo trying to be all perfect and Mikey getting all the attention by being silly and cute."

"Mikey is rather silly." Donnie agreed.

Shuffling his feet and poking at that pebble again, Raphael finally lifted his amber eyes – and Donnie felt that intense gaze lingering upon him. The air thickened and he waited for the question to be asked. When nothing happened, he lifted his eyes to catch Raph's gaze and a frown tugged at his beak. "Raphie? What is it?"

"You should go home. Splinter will be worried about you. I need to find my own place." He pointed over his shoulder.

Donnie looked away and fidgeted with his fingers behind his back. "So you're really going to go out there all alone? Won't you get lonely?"

A genuine grin plastered itself to Raph's face and he waved his hand. "Naw, I like being alone. 'Sides, if you come to visit me, then I'll get to talk to you!"

"But…"

"Just go home, Donnie, I'll be fine." He gave him a thumb's up before he waved and once again began this trek back down the tunnel and following the trail of the red marked pipe.

Watching him walk away, Donnie's stomach twisted and his chest clenched and he suddenly felt as though something inside of him would break if he watched Raph round that corner and walk away. His lips parted and his breathing sped up as fear began to tickle at his mind. Pushing that fear aside though and analyzing his thoughts and emotions, Donnie inhaled deeply to calm himself before he followed after him, walking quickly to catch up to him. Silently joining him and walking at his side, Donnie dropped his eyes to the ground and watched their steps fall into sync as he followed beside him, finally settling that unease that had threatened to erupt just seconds before.

Raph raised a brow, eyeing his younger sibling. He grunted and shook his head as he continued on his exploration, "Donnie, go home. I'm sure Splinter and Mikey made something for dinner. All I got is some animal crackers, cereal, and bologna." Raphael grunted and pointed at the duffle bag over his shoulder.

Donnie shrugged and smiled, staying at his side and watching their feet.

They walked for several more minutes with nothing but hushed footsteps as their only sign of passing through the area. Raphael's eyes darted to Don every few seconds as he weaved the two of them through the tunnels following that trusty red pipe. He wasn't sure what to make of this situation… usually Donnie didn't listen to his harebrained schemes, let alone go along with him. It made him rather nervous to think he was now responsible for making sure Donnie would have a place to sleep and have proper meals to eat if he were to really follow him out here into 'the wilds' of the unexplored sewer pipes.

"Ya should just go home already." Raph said, peeking sideways at his brother as he straightened up a tad and threw his shoulders back in an attempt to appear more authoritative than he really felt. "I get the point, I'll tell you the second I find a place to stay. You don't have to follow me. I'm the one leaving."

"Raphie," Donnie began, his voice tender and delicate.

Dark eyes lifted to stare directly into his, and the sweetest, most honest smile Raphael had ever seen graced Donatello's features and settled upon his face in that moment. His dark eyes seemed to soften and Raph caught his breath, his mind grinding to a halt and his face flushing as Donnie gazed up at him in the prettiest way he had ever seen, and – in a tender motion that suddenly brought their hands together and their fingers linking – Donnie took his hand.

"Raphie, we're going to get married. If you leave, then I'm leaving with you." He said and offered up that sweet, shining smile and pretty sparkling eyes to Raphael as though it was a gift and a promise all at once meant solely for him.

Raphael just stared at him as they walked, their footsteps slowing till they were stopped and standing hand in hand in the sewer tunnel in the damp darkness. Something knotted up in Raph's chest – but it was a good thing; it felt warm and squirmy, almost like when he kissed Donnie, but more satisfying and nerve-wracking all at the same time.

Silence stretched between them and Donnie peeked back up at him. It was funny to see that look on his face, innocent and yet coy. That inquisitive light sparkled brilliantly in the smoky depths of his eyes, and Raphael's face warmed once again from that kittenish look Donnie was giving him from under his hooded eyes.

"Raphie?"

He wasn't sure when his body had moved, but he found himself two seconds later pressing his lips to Don's and kissing him slowly and chastely, savoring the feel of Donnie sighing and then melting against him.

Dropping his duffle bag so he could wrap an arm about the purple clad turtle, Raphael pressed the kiss for just a few heartbeats longer before he broke it with a lingering sigh. He opened his eyes cautiously and he felt a small victory jump in his chest from the content and dreamy look plastered across Donnie's face. That sweet smile once again played at the corner of his lips, and he felt Don's fingers travel down the length of his bicep.

Donnie's smile grew into a radiant grin as he finally opened his eyes fully. A breathy 'thank you' managed to escape his lips as he gazed up at Raph with a grin that could have even rivaled Mikey's infamous cute smile at the moment.

A blush colored Raph's cheeks and he looked away, bending down to pick up his duffel bag and place it on his shoulder again before he captured Don's hand once again as he turned around to begin their trek back to the lair.

"Hey, Raphie?"

"Yeah?"

"I really would have gone with you."

Raph's stomach jumped and he peeked shyly at Don. A tender smile of his own threatening to break out over his face as Donnie's pretty eyes brightened from the honesty pouring off of him. But he had a reputation to keep and he just grunted and tried to avoid looking into his dark eyes, and instead just look annoyed – not that it really worked, but he tried.

"Thanks." Raph whispered and looked back down the tunnel.

Yeah, this warm knot of nerves and squirmy satisfaction was something he wanted to keep forever. Loving Donnie was so effortless and fulfilling. He tightened his grip on Don's hand, grateful that he would have him for the rest of his life.

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Again with the Author's note: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter :) I enjoyed writing this one. After I edited it, I wasn't sure that I liked it, but I changed my mind after about a day... heh. It might be a rather uneventful chapter, but something did happen that day between Raph and Donnie and it's very important and plays later on.

thanks for reading! and I LOVE reviews! honestly, reviews are like my life-blood. It not only makes me want to write more, bit its also the reward after toiling away for hours writing this. please review! it makes me smile :D thank you!

-Melissa the Damgel

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.